This invention relates to morpholine derivatives and, more specifically, the a .gamma.-phenyl-.gamma.-1,3-(4-methyl)-dioxolan-butyric acid amide, the method of its preparation, its use as a growth stimulant in animals, and improvement of feed-utilization.
It is an objective of the meat production industry to stimulate the growth of animals and to improve utilization of feed. It is known that agents with estrogenic activity can be used for this purpose; these agents, however, have been banned recently by numerous countries because they sometimes produce serious side effects.
Various other agents, or groups of agents, are currently being used as growth promoters in a number of animal species. For the rearing of swine, for example, quinoxalines are used, as described by Haddadin et al. (British Patent No. 1,305,138), by A. Garzia and R. D. Williams (U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,642) and others. U.S. Pat. No. 3,232,345 to Hodge et al. discloses the use of zearalanol as a growth-promoting agent in cattle and sheep. Bacitracin derivatives are used as growth-promoting agents in chickens.
Where the quinoxalines, the antibiotics, and their derivatives are concerned, most of the growth stimulating action is based on the health status of the treated animals and this treatment does not provide for improvement of the diet-conversion factor. Furthermore, these compounds cause environmental ecological problems. Currently used anabolic agents are known to act by means of an undesirable hormonal function.
Another disadvantage of currently used growth stimulants is that they frequently are active only in limited species, in some cases only in a single animal species. Frequently, they do not provide for improvement of conversion of food into meat.
There is still a need for agents which stimulate the growth of animals without the disadvantages associated with presently used products, and which can be used in several animal species with satisfactory results.